2k Erg Test

It's not a neck injury, I'm just wiped out.  Today was "2k day".  I did 6:01.3, it's a PB (my previous best was 6:04), but I had hoped to break the 6 minute mark.  The scores accross the team were very strong, the strength in depth was phenominal and it should hopefully translate into some really quick boats this summer.  My feeling towards my test is neutral, neither pleased nor disappointed.  Last year I really messed up these tests and struggled with tight painful legs that cramped up as soon as I came to pace, this year my splits were consistent but possibly slightly slow to the half way mark.  Even with a proper warm down my legs are killing me some 6 hours after doing my test.  Recovery is really important, so I will try to breath some life back into them before tomorrows training starts.

Until a week Saturday (2nd April), I will predominantly be training in London at my club - UL.  I will do some of our sessions at the Gym at Bisham Abbey - this is where we do most of our EIS guided strength and conditioning work.  It is the Eight's Head of the River on the 2nd, where hundred of eights from round the UK and the world come to compete on the River Thames.  The course of the race is exactly the same as the boat race but from Mortlake to Putney rather than Putney to Mortlake.  The race is conducted as a time trial with each crew set off ten-ish seconds apart.  I will be racing in the UL 1st eight, with my brother Ben (who is studying pharmacology at UCL) in the UL lightweight eight.  Most of the other squad guys will be racing for either Leander or Molesey boat club.

It is the boat race on Saturday, for those wanting a flutter I would recommend backing Cambridge.  I have close friends in both boats but would have to say the Cambridge boat looks stronger on paper.  That doesn't mean Oxford can't do it, they have a couple of classy rowers in their crew, but on balance I would say Cambridge is likely to win.  As they won last year the odds on Cambridge won't be great so it may be better chancing it with Oxford.  On Betfair you will get better odds for the under-dog as you get closer to the race (mainly because the "pundits" on the TV coverage nearly always predict the previous year's winners to do it again).